Tag: Bob Hentzen

CFCA President Bob Hentzen is welcomed on the mission awareness trip in Kenya.

Lee and Bridget with their sponsored child, Kosi, in Kenya.

CFCA scholar Stephanie.

Samuel, CFCA staff member in Kenya, with Jake and Cristina Hentzen.

Samuel with CFCA sponsors Renee and Steve.

Samuel with Jude, a CFCA sponsor.

Samuel with CFCA sponsors and scholars.

A morning of outdoor games inside the fresh Nairobi Arboretum turned out to be a great time of sharing among sponsors, sponsored friends and their families, and CFCA staff.

Lillian is a CFCA staff member in charge of facilitating CFCA mothers groups in the Nairobi project. Here she is with Bob and four mothers of sponsored children.

Massai mothers of sponsored children welcome the sponsors to Nanyuki.

“Hope For a Family” cake baked by a family in the CFCA sponsorship program. The family lives in the Nanyuki slum area.

Bob meets a family who participates in the CFCA sponsorship program in the Nanyuki slum area. They’re urban slum farmers, raising a milk cow, laying hens, chickens and doves in a very enclosed area.

Sponsors visit a CFCA family in Nanyuki.

“Bob’s notes” are reports from CFCA President Bob Hentzen, who regularly accompanies mission awareness trip participants. You can see Bob’s full update on his Facebook page.

What a joy to be back in Africa!

It’s so very encouraging to see the spirit of CFCA growing in this area. In particular, I would like to express my gratitude for the support and solidarity of our African sisters and brothers before, during and after Walk2gether.

CFCA President Bob Hentzen traveled with members of the “Rise and Dream” film team to its world premiere at the Thin Line Film Fest in Denton, Texas. This is his reflection about the screening.

In this photo from the CFCA archives, CFCA President Bob Hentzen talks with one of the youth featured in the "Rise and Dream" documentary film after the concert.

I’m confident that when the film festival votes are counted, we will be reaffirmed that “Rise and Dream” is a very good documentary. The spontaneous enthusiasm of all who see it speaks clearly that it is much more.

Everyone in attendance really gets into this story. At the conclusion of the film, we enjoyed such a lively dialogue.

The film festival staff had to ask us to clear the theater and continue elsewhere to make room for the next show.

The film’s executive producer, CFCA’s Paul Pearce, invited the entire audience to gather at the Sweetwater Grill & Tavern down the street.

We so enjoyed one another’s company and the film’s soundtrack harmonies of Barclay Martin and Rick Willoughby …”and let the afternoon unfold.”

“This film is connected to the essential elements of being human.” It is a statement of the deepest values affecting millions of people in the Philippines and worldwide.

On the today side, this documentary is timely, as the world studies the moves of powerful nations interested in deposits beneath the archipelagos bordering the South China Sea.

On the transcendental side, the film grabs us all with irresistible human beauty. Youthful energy bursts forth and rides the waves far enough to return. “Can you hear the songs of children all around?” Read more

More than 8,000 children have been sponsored through the “8,000 miles for 8,000 kids” effort inspired by Walk2gether, the 8,000-mile solidarity walk through Latin America led by CFCA President and Co-founder Bob Hentzen.

We cannot thank everyone enough for all the help we received in making this possible. This was a labor of love for so many people, and we deeply appreciate your support.

As Bob says, “For each of you who walked with us in fact or in prayer, this continues to be an exciting and humbling journey into the lives of our sponsored friends, their families and our CFCA colleagues.”

A new president, new congressional representatives and new mayors will take office on Jan. 15.

This is also the time of the “safra” ñ the burning, cutting and hauling of sugar cane. The air is filled with the distinct odor and falling ash of the cane. It is impressive to think that every stalk must be hand-cut by campesinos, darkened by the coastal sun and carbon, and cut and stacked. They are paid for by the ton. Read more

Minu: “Tears come into my eyes today when I recall how my parents left me with relatives as they searched for work in the northern part of India. It is no less than a divine intervention that sponsorship came. I fear my father may have abandoned us. However, my sponsorship continues, and this has been my greatest consoler and mentor. If I say sponsorship has been my rock, my parent, it won’t be an exaggeration. I am filled with gratitude and awe. I wish to give back to my society as a mark of appreciation for this CFCA program.”

Pinky: “We live in a remote area where there is no good education facility. Before sponsorship, I was like a frog in a well, knowing nothing of the outside world. The CFCA help became a light which removed the darkness of ignorance within me and filled my life with the brightness of knowledge. I have been studying in a well-developed educational institution of the Bhagalpur Diocese for 12 years. On behalf of all sponsored children, I promise you we will fulfill our dreams to be successful and help other children.” Read more

“Bob’s notes” are reports from CFCA President Bob Hentzen, who regularly accompanies mission awareness trips. You can see Bob’s full update on his Facebook page.

This report from the November 2011 mission awareness trip to India will come in two parts: Annamary’s story and the rest of the trip.

Annamary

Bob: Let me start with the inspiring story of Annamary, 11, a sponsored girl from a remote village in CFCA’s project in Bhalgalpur. What a joy for our sponsors to meet this young woman. What follows are Annamary’s own words.

Annamary: In the village where I live, there are about 100 families.

No electricity, no running water, no cooking gas and no toilets.

When the villagers have no work, women go to the forest to collect firewood.

Men get drunk and fight, and the children are always in their natural dress playing in the village lanes. I know this, because I was born in this village.

Like the other villagers, we live in a mud hut. There is my Papa, Sushil. He is always out looking for a job.

Every morning, my Mummy left us in her best dress. I did not know where she went. When I was 4, I had the job of babysitting my younger sister, Dolly, 6 months.

Our “8,000 miles for 8,000 kids” campaign inspired by Walk2gether is close to completion!

However, the ripple effects throughout the communities that CFCA President Bob Hentzen visited along the walk will be continuing for quite some time.

We’re thrilled to share the reflections of three CFCA project coordinators in some of the countries that Walk2gether passed through.

Please feel free to share this video with other people who might be interested in sponsoring children in need.

As of today, we’ve found sponsors for 6,459 children. We’re working hard to reach our original goal of getting 8,000 kids sponsored and asking for your help in meeting it. Who knows, you could help us find a sponsor for the 6,460th child!

#8000kids update: We have the best Twitter followers in the world! Thanks so much to everyone who used the hashtag #8000kids to raise awareness of this campaign and bring hope to people living in poverty.

We actually exceeded our goal of 200 tweets (see our previous blog post about sharing CFCA on Twitter) for the year. Last time we checked, it was 231 tweets and counting!

Both these blog posts feature Walk2gether and the campaign to find sponsors for 8,000 kids. With the support of people like Suzanne and Tina, we’re making progress toward that goal!

1) 8000 for 8000

Suzanne, a CFCA sponsor, highlighted her personal sponsorship experience on her blog and also pointed to our consistently high evaluations by independent charity evaluators.

Here’s an excerpt …

“The president of CFCA walked 8000 miles between December 2009 and June 2011 to bring attention to families in poverty. He would like to have 8000 children sponsored, one for each mile he walked. …

“I can attest to how wonderful the sponsorship experience is. Weíve been sponsoring Ivan from Colombia since 2009. Itís one of the best things we’ve ever done. We just received his Christmas card last week, complete with a recent picture. Heís just adorable and itís been great to see how heís grown throughout the last two years.”

Tina Fisher posted a beautiful picture of Jose Miguel to her blog. Here’s his story:

Jose†Miguel was born on April 28, 2010 to a mother who is 20 years old and a father who is 25.†† He likes to play with cars and is learning Spanish.† He is said to be so sweet and has special needs regarding his health,†he has Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.

“His†mother and father both work, yet they have so many problems as their income is too low to cover all the needs for little Jose Miguel.† He lives in a home with mud walls, a zinc roof, and a dirt floor.† He sleeps on a wooden bed, cooking is done by firewood and lastly, six people live in this home.††The family income is about $15 USD per month.

“My prayers, if it’s God’s will, are for me to use my blog & tweeting to help this family gain†sponsorship.† Sponsorship is $30 USD per month.†”

Bob calls mothers and elderly to participate in one of his songs: “The Shout of Your Silence.”

“Bob’s notes” are reports from CFCA President Bob Hentzen, who regularly accompanies mission awareness trip participants. You can see Bobís full update on his Facebook page.

Our entire team in Guatemala is delighted to receive this fine group of sponsors and friends.

During the mission awareness trip, sponsors experienced the buildup to a presidential run-off election, scheduled for Nov. 6.

This promised to be an exciting trip, considering election frenzy, heavy rains, swollen rivers, damaged roads and major landslides. We often adjusted our itinerary according to weather and road conditions.

Naturally, we thanked our CFCA family for prayers along the way.

Due to abundant rains, Guatemala welcomed us with a green countryside and pleasant temperatures.

We took sponsors to the CFCA office that serves more than 6,000 families in Guatemala City.

Children, teens and staff had prepared a nice orientation to the CFCA presence in their areas.

Participating were Miguel Dario Tzarax, project coordinator; Maria del Carmen Santos, social worker; Mario, sponsored for 15 years; two groups of sponsored children and mothers groups (Mezquital and El Gallito); moving testimony of Monica Catalan, mother leader from El Gallito; and me (Bob) with a group of children and mothers.

All this week, we had to adjust our itinerary as the 72 highways of Guatemala were blocked from landslides and flooding.

We did make it out to San Lucas Toliman on Sunday. We felt rewarded by the welcome of our sponsored friends and families. Read more